Bethany Christian vs. Triton {Match Report}

Click here for photos from this match.

What an excellent match this was. We took a good team and we beat them soundly. These are the type of matches that really let me see the progress that we're making and the progress that we need to continue to make to reach our goals.

This Triton team was 5-1, both Varsity and JV. Sure, they had wins over LaVille, Mishawaka, and Rochester (all teams that we beat rather easily) but they were definitely a higher quality of opponent than some of our recent wins. And we came out, and at many positions, we bossed the matches. We were in control. That's what really makes me happy as a coach, the confident way we handled ourselves even when matched up with a good opponent.

Three of the matches were really dominated by the Bethany teams. Daniel Buschert and Mikey Kelly came out in a groove, and attacked the net relentlessly in gaining a 6-0 first set win. This quick first set "set the tone" for the Bruins on this gorgeous Saturday, and right behind them #1 doubles, Jeremy Thomas and Johnny Kauffman, took their first set 6-2, and began to watch their opponents melt down on court. The doubles teams, playing side by side, then coasted through second sets that were a bit closer, but that they were able to close out by after close beginnings by regaining focus, re-attacking their opponents, and finishing the matches out. The two doubles teams came off with 1 minute of one another with the first two Bruin victories of the morning.

At the JV level, #1 doubles went out first and struggled early, but similar to the Varsity doubles, regained focus and reeled off several games in a row to close out their match. Seth Krabill and Matt Amstutz played against some tricky opponents for this match, opponents who had been used to playing some varsity in previous matches. They were able to deal with them well and get the JV their first win as well as they exited the courts.

In the Varsity singles, Luke Hostetter showed that he was back to old ways after struggling a bit for the past weeks. Though he had continued to win, he had been plagued by bouts of inconsistency that were "inconsistent" with his normal patterns of play. After recieving some instruction to play smoother, he did just that in frustrating Triton's returning #1 player, Brandon Anthony. Anthony played an attacking game of big forehands and rushing the net, but Luke was able to keep him running back and forth at the baseline for most of the match, and was also able to find some crucial topspin lobs when Anthony came forward.

The other two singles matches were a bit tougher. At #3 singles, Jonny Shenk found himself trailing 3-5 to an opponent in Josh Gephart who had made very, very few mistakes. But being able to grit down and ground out a match is one of Jonny's strengths and he was able to find a way to keep playing his style and strategy in the face of perfection. In a series of long multi-deuce games, Jonny clawed back to 4-5, then 5-5, then took the 6-5 lead in the first set. In the deciding game Jonny's energy was just too much for Gephart, and the first set went the Bruin's way. The second set was a thing of beauty. It lasted all of 10 minutes as Jonny first set determination had completed shattered the will of Gephart. Gone was the first set perfection as it was replaced with a string of errors. The hard work done, Jonny sailed to a 6-0 set.

At #2 singles, it was the Bruins Jared Schwartzentruber who found himself at the wrong end of a 6-0 set. After playing some of his best tennis of the season to take the first set, Jared suddenly lost the stroke that had allowed him to pull ahead. Shot after shot bounced long and wide and the frustration grew as Jared found himself entering the third set. He and Triton's second player, sophomore Ben Montalbano, traded games with Jared beginning to find his groove again until Jared led 4-3. Then Montalbano pulled out a number of inch-perfect lobs against the attacking Schwartzentruber to win two staight games and earn himself a chance to serve out the match. Montalbano took a 40-15 lead in the decisive game, leaving Jared facing two match points against him. Jared attacked the net for the first, and found himself with an overhead that he smashed away with shouts of "C'mon" rising from both him and his gathered teammates. The next point saw Montalbano dump a forehand in the net after a long rally. Jared had succeeded in getting the game back to deuce. After seeing off a third match point in the deuce, Jared was able to take the game and tie the set at 5-5. From here he cruised forward, momentum firmly on his side and took the third set 7-5.

This gave the Varsity the 5-0 (it's fifth straight 5-0 win). The JV match had concluded in the meantime. Ben Mast recovered from losing the first two games of his match to take an 8-2 victory. Kyle Miller had stroked his way to an 8-1 at #2 singles, looking very confident from the baseline and forcing many errors. Russell Klassen took the #3 position, and after a close start, his constant running down of every ball and placing it back broke down his opponent as well. Austin Loucks found himself as the only Bruin on the wrong end of the scoreboard, He had a hard fought match against senior Kody Senff, who had played Varsity for Triton for two years of his career.

It was a great match all around. The weather was a blessing, the play was confident and convincing. The team spirit was great after another win. I pray this focus, concentration, spirit, and play only gets better as we go on.

Scores
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Bethany --- Score --- Triton

#1S - Luke Hostetter (11) --- 6-2, 6-2 --- Brandon Anthony (11)
#2S - Jared Schwartzentruber (10) --- 6-3, 0-6, 7-5 --- Ben Montalbano (10)
#3S - Jonny Shenk (11) --- 7-5, 6-0 --- Josh Gephart (10)
#1D - Johnny Kauffman (11)/Jeremy Thomas (11) --- 6-2, 6-2 --- Mitch Mellott (12)/Erik Shafer (12)
#2D - Daniel Buschert (11)/Mikey Kelly (10) --- 6-0, 6-3 --- Bryant Davenport (10)/Darius Stevens (10)

JV
#1S - Ben Mast (9) --- 8-2 --- Kreig Vories (11)
#2S - Kyle Miller (9) --- 8-1 --- ???
#3S - Russell Klassen (9) --- 8-3 --- Andrew Sellers (11)
#4S - Austin Loucks (10) --- 4-6 --- Kody Senff (12)
#1D - Matt Amstutz (11)/Seth Krabill (9) --- 8-4 --- Andrew Sellers/Kody Senff